Groupon CEO Lefkofsky latest to make the Giving Pledge

Groupon Inc. CEO and Southfield native Eric Lefkofsky is the latest in a series of billionaires tied to Southeast Michigan who have pledged to give away half their wealth.

Lefkosky, 44, and his wife, Liz, made the pledge this week to The Giving Pledge, an effort started by billionaire investor Warren Buffet and Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, in 2010.

Eli and Edythe Broad made the pledge in 2010, and Quicken Loans Inc. Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert and 5-Hour Energy drink maker Manoj Bhargava joined the pledge in 2012.

“We recognize that perhaps our greatest accomplishment — with the exception of the kids we raise — will not come from businesses we've started, but from the help we provide to people and causes around the world,” the Lefkofskys said in a letter on GivingPledge.org. “We believe, with the others who have signed this pledge, that we are truly on the cusp of life-changing achievements that will improve our collective quality of life, and have an everlasting impact on generations to come.”

Lefkofsky co-founded Groupon, Echo Global Logistics, InnerWorkings and venture fund Lightbank, and has a net worth estimated at $1.75 billion by Forbes on its list of the 400 richest Americans. They are the largest shareholders in Groupon, with 108.9 million shares worth about $1.1 billion.

He graduated from Southfield-Lathrup High School in 1987 and earned bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Michigan.

Bhargava founded Farmington Hills-based Living Essentials LLC to bring his energy shot to the masses. 5-Hour Energy generated $1.2 billion in sales for 2011 and has helped seed at least $250 million in local private equity funds under Innovation Ventures LLC. It has driven his personal net worth to well over $1 billion.

Besides Detroit-based Quicken, Gilbert is the founding partner of the private equity group Rockbridge Growth Equity LLC, a principal in the venture capital firm Detroit Venture Partners and majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association.

Eli and Edythe Broad donated the lead gift of $28 million for the year-old Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.